Silas h



(No Mdd el.)

,s. RAYMOND.

CARPET SWEEPER.

No. 555,053. Patented Feb. 18, 1896.

llVVENTOf? SilasfLRa m0 hcl WITNESSES:

NAM. PHDTO-LITHQWASIIINGTOM EC.

NITE STATES ATENT Fries.

SILAS H. RAYMOND, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO T. STEWART \VHITE, THOMAS FRIANT, GAIUS IV. PERKINS, AND CHARLES J. REED, OF

SAME PLACE.

CARPET-SWEEPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,053, dated February 18, 1896. Application filed October 12, 1894 Serial No. 525,715. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SILAs H. RAYMOND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carpet-Sweepers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in carpet-sweepers, and its object is to provide the same with certain new and useful features, hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Experience has demonstrated that it is desirable to bring the brush more closely and vigorously in contact with some grades of carpet than with others. The more firm and unyielding the carpet the more vigorous the brushing required. Thus a Brussels carpet should have the brush forced more vigorously in contact with it than a Moquette or other soft or long-napped carpet, which latter should be brushed more lightly.

The object of my invention is to provide a device that will automatically apply the brush more or less vigorously according to the degree of softness and penetrability of the carpet without special attention or regulated pressure upon the bail. I accomplish this result by the mechanism hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an end elevation of a device embodying my invention, with parts broken away; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section of the same-on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a plan view of a portion of the same, showing the case in horizontal section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Like letters refer to like parts in all of the figures.

A represents the case having the usual form and provided with horizontally elongated openings A through which pass horizontallymovable rods 0, on the ends of which are journaled the supporting and driving wheels B. The brush-shaft D is provided with j ournals E at each end, to which journals are attached the pulleys F, which pulleys are engaged by the driving-wheels B to rotate the brush-shaft. Said journals E are vertically movable and rotatable in vertical slots G in the end walls of the case, and the dust-pans II project beneath the brush far enough to engage the same and prevent its falling out of the case when the device is lifted from the floor. By allowing the journals E to move verticallyin the slots G the brush rests, by its gravity alone, upon the surface to be swept, and contacts hard or soft surfaces with the same downward force at all times except as modified by the action of the drive-wheels, as hereinafter described, and rises or falls in said slots to accommodate its position to any changes in the surface beneath.

As the device is reciprocated over the surface to be swept the leading wheels B move toward the pulleys F and contact the same and the trailing wheels B move away from said pulleys. Thus the brush is always driven by the leading wheels and lifted thereby at its forward side. Thus as the brush engages a soft carpet the increased resistance to rotation due to greater penetration of the brush into the fabric of the carpet tends to increase the lifting action of the wheel upon the brush and avoids thrusting the bristles too deeply into the carpet, and conversely as the brush engages a firm or smooth carpet it penetrates the same less and thus requires less force to rotate it, which decreases the lifting action of the drive-wheels. The downward pressure of the brush due to its gravity is thus modified exactly in accordance with the various softness or hardness of the surface acted upon and by automatic mechanical means without any attention on the part of the operator or Varying pressure upon the bail.

It is quite obvious that various modifications of structure may be made having the brush-journals freely movable vertically and the drive-wheel journals freely movable horizontally, whereby the brush may rest by its gravity alone on the surface acted upon and the leading drive -wheels only engage the brush-pulleys without departing from the spirit of my invention. I do not, therefore, limit myself to the precise construction shown in these respects.

IVhat I claim is- 1. In a carpetsweeper, the combination with the casing, the brush-shaft journaled therein and free to rise and fall, and the pulleys on the ends of said brush-shaft, of the drive-Wheels operating said brush by frictionally engaging said pulleys, said drive- Wheels being located on opposite sides of said pulleys and freely movable to and from the same, substantially as described, whereby said pulleys will be engaged and the brush driven only by the drive-wheels on one side thereof, as specified.

2. I11 a carpet-sweeper, the combination with the case having vertically-elongated slots, and also having horizontally-elongated slots on opposite sides of said vertical slots; the brush-shaft, having its ends extended through said vertical slots, said brush-shaft being free to rise and fall; and pulleys on the end of said brush-shaft, oi the drivingavheel axles moving freely within said horizontal slots toward and from said pulley, and the drive-wheel on said axles drivingsaid brushshaft by frictional contact with said pulleys, substantially as described, whereby said pulleys will be engaged and the brush-shaft driven only by the drive-wheels on one side thereof, as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

SILAS ll. RAYMOND. \Vitnesses:

MARY BENsoN ALLEN, Lois MoULToN. 

